We are going to revisit a subject we have talked about before,
being informed and seeking knowledge to
enable us to make good horse related decisions.
Why this subject again? Because, as new people
come into the horse industry, or return to horses,
it just seems to keep cropping it’s ugly head up.
When we go see a doctor, many of us, on
anything that is substantial, would get a second
opinion, but it seems that to often people coming into
this industry try to do it without any type of professional
opinion. This is so unfortunate and it really hurts this
industry. It also causes unnecessary heartaches,
and injuries, that could be avoided.
Although people will read books and articles
and get on the internet, which is a good thing,
they have to remember that they have to do their
homework, even on the information in the books,
articles and the web. There is a ton of information
available, but you still need to be able to discern
between the good and the bad.
Educate yourself and don’t rush into getting
a horse once you think that is the direction you
want to take. Take your time, talk to different
horse people from different disciplines, defi nitely
take some lessons…. even if you used to ride
when you were younger. You will be amazed at
the things you have forgotten or didn’t actually
even know. I can’t tell you how important it is to
educate yourself before you invest what will be a
ton of money into the purchase of a horse.
Believe it or not, just like making purchases
in the regular world, you want to make your
purchase in the horse world with caution and care
and from a person of quality reputation. There is
no such thing as a bargain horse and there are
people who lack integrity in this business just as
there are in any business. Unfortunately, though
many people have good intentions, dollar signs
may get in the way. If you are coming back into
the world of horses or new to horses the last thing
you want is to buy someone else’s problem.
I really cannot say enough about utilizing
a professional horse person, whether it is a
trainer or a knowledgeable friend. And even
when utilizing a professional you need to get
references. Personally I am willing to lose a dollar
rather than sell a horse that is not matched up with
the person’s experience and knowledge. I would
probably have a lot more disposal income if I was
in the training business strictly for the money, but
my passion is to train good horses, train people
to be responsible riders, and hook up the right
horses with the level of the riders ability. I refuse
to sell a horse to someone that it is not going to
be appropriate for. I want to be able to sleep at
night and not have to worry about that horse I just
sold to someone who really needed a different
horse. If it is not a good fi t it doesn’t matter how
much money I am offered for a horse, I won’t sell
that horse to that individual. Unfortunately, that is
often not the case in this industry.
A Sample Scenerio
A few weeks ago I did an evaluation for an
individual who had purchased 4 horses. They
were rescue horses and from the initial contact
I was pretty sure it was not going to be a good
scenario, but I went, with some trepidation, and
evaluated the horses. In this case, it isn’t going
to turn out to badly, but there is defi nitely work to
be done and skills that both the owners and the
horses need to develop.
Quite honestly, if you are going to buy your
fi rst horse, it should probably not come from a
rescue situation. It isn’t that they can’t be saved
or salvaged, but it takes skill and knowledge to
work with a horse that may have a lot of baggage.
Many people entering the industry haven’t
acquired the necessary skills to work with these
horses and have it turn out well. Horses have
emotions and experience trauma. They have a
lot of the emotions that we have and they have an
incredible memory. Figuring out what is tripping
their trigger and how to deal with it is not for the
untrained. In the case mentioned above the 4
horses also had to sort out the herd hierarchy on
top of whatever else it was they went through that
put them in a rescue in the fi rst place. It takes a
pretty solid minded horse to rise above all that.
All in all, a person entering the horse industry
paired with a rescue horse is really not the best
choice.
This individuals heart was in the right place,
but the picture in the individual’s mind, of how
it should be, was unfortunately, misguided, and
the amount of time, effort and money to achieve
the picture of the perfect life with horses is not
turning out as imagined.
In most instances, I have a very small
window of time to evaluate both the horse(s)
and the individual or family and learn all the
variables involved. In this instance, I was actually
pleasantly surprised, but one horse was only two
and in almost every case just the age alone is
enough to fail a horse for a first time horse owner.
Two of the horses seemed like there was a lot to
work with and are going into training. The fourth
horse is very willing, very pleasant and maybe
very workable other than it was a large breed
horse and the size maybe undesirable, but we
put that one on the back burner.
The other thing that is going to happen in this
case is the owner is coming to a clinic to start
filling in the holes in their knowledge base and
we are going to replace the 2 year old horse with
one that is appropriate for the kids in the family
who are all under 12. Preferably this replacement
horse will have one foot in the grave, figuratively
speaking, and even then, though you can find
baby sitter horses, they will still test you because
that is the nature of the horse.
So my goal in covering this subject again is
that hopefully you can avoid a similar situation
and start out right.
A few quick tips:
• Don’t buy based on emotion
• Find someone you can trust to help you
• Do your homework!!!!
• Take lessons
• Don’t jump into it, if you jump into it you are
being emotion based
• Don’t buy a horse on looks
• Have the horse evaluated by a professional
• Please where a helmet at all times
The cheapest part of a horse is buying it.....
Remember, horses can kill, they are not like
bringing home a puppy.
In the above scenario the individual really
let their emotions, and that pretty picture in their
mind, get in front of what was realistic.
Ride Safe and Happy Trails... Dennis
